One of the two solar-powered, trash collecting boats gifted by Hanwha Group to Vinh Long Province. — VNS Photo Viet Dung

A campaign to clean up Mekong River was organised in Vinh Long Province on Wednesday to mark World Environment Day.

It was undertaken by Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, the Viet Nam Environment Administration and Korea's Global Green Growth Institute.

Back Jong Kook, CEO and chairman of the Member Council of Hanwha Life Viet Nam, a subsidiary of Hanwha Group, said the campaign sought to “help protect the environment and improve the lives of locals.”

The Korean company gifted Vinh Long two trash collecting boats that run on solar energy, while around 30 local university students volunteered to pick up trash floating on the river.

The boats can collect waste without emitting greenhouse gas or causing other pollution.

Vinh Long is the first province chosen for this project, and Hanwha will expand it to other provinces if it proves successful.

Tran Hoang Tuu, deputy chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said environmental protection is among the top priorities, and the boats would be utilised to the fullest.

The Mekong River flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Viet Nam before entering the East Sea, and over 70 million people rely on it for water. But garbage and waste water dumped into it make it one of the most polluted rivers on earth. — VNS